South Florida Orchid Society

by Susan Taylor
Originally published in BellaOnline

If you are having trouble growing orchids indoors, especially if you like the tiny ones, you can try growing in a simple fishbowl. My first trial came when I purchased a Masdevallia I couldn’t resist at an orchid show. These are generally rather cool growing orchids and we live in southern Texas where it gets very hot during the summers. Most of my orchids grow in the greenhouse and must be able to survive temperatures up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 degrees Celsius. Once I got the orchid home I realized that it would never survive outside. Mind you, this is completely against one of the most important orchid tips I espouse: only buy orchids that will grow in your conditions! But it was so cute I simply couldn’t resist.

These little orchids need quite high humidity to grow well so I decided to try growing in a fishbowl near a north window indoors. The ball-like fishbowl was about six or seven inches, or 15-18 centimeters in diameter. I put white gravel in the bottom, about one half inch or 2 centimeters deep, then placed the plant in the middle and then used rainwater to just below the surface to increase humidity. Do not put anything over the top of the container. Your orchids need air circulation as well as high humidity.

The only problem I’ve found with this system is that the plants grow so quickly, and flower so much that I keep having to find larger and larger fish bowls so that the flowers do not stick to the sides. Also watch the leaves to make sure the plant is not getting too much light. The leaves will turn very light green. Try to keep the leaf color about the same as the leaves when you purchased the plant. Do not cut off the inflorescences if they stay green because they will develop new buds on the live growth. I’d recommend finding out how large a plant the orchid will be before starting this project – I’m on my third fishbowl for one of them (I now have three since I had to fill up the empty fishbowls). Garage sales are good sources for glass containers that can be used for this. They’re decorative looking and the orchids love the humidity. Give it a try with one of the great miniature orchids available to orchid growers!

Mounting Orchids by Annie Mezaros

I was apprehensive to say the least; the first time I decided I wanted to mount one of my orchids. I had realized that none of the directions or advise I had been following to grown my Tolumnia Ralph Yagi were working for me and I had decided upon mounting it as a last ditch effort to save it’s life. I didn’t think I had anything to lose except the plant itself, which was well on its way to plant heaven already. It was the best decision I could have made for that plant and I’m now successfully growing 7 Tolumnias as well as a lot of other miniature orchids on mounts. I do not grow any large plants of slabs, but only because I don’t have the space to hang them anywhere.

Making the decision to mount an orchid if you are a windowsill or under lights grower should take into consideration a number of different factors, such as whether you have enough humidity to keep the slab moist long enough for the roots to absorb water; are you willing and able to commit to watering the mount as often as it may require, even if that turns out to be everyday? Do you have an appropriate place to hang the plant where it will receive sufficient light? If you can provide the humidity (60% or more is ideal), space and commitment; growing orchids this way is very rewarding. Not only does mounting mimic the way orchids plants grow in nature, in many ways it’s actually easier to grow plants this way because you can see the condition of the roots and whether or not the plant needs to be watered. More orchids meet their maker due to the loving application of too much water than any other reason. This takes the guesswork out of whether or not to fetch the watering can.

1) Select the plant to be mounted taking into consideration its growth habit, ie. Does it sprawl out or stay compact, grow quickly or moderately? Does it need to stay moist or dry out quickly?

2) There are many materials you can use to mount your orchid on. The most common mounts used today are tree fern slabs, virgin cork bark and sticks. Paramount has tree fern slabs in various sizes and sticks are easy to come by, but it’s important to make sure to buy any online products from various suppliers in Canada and the US. I have used non-virgin cork bark with good results too. It’s sometimes available at pet stores where reptile supplies are sold. Just be sure to clean the cork very carefully if you buy it from a pet store.

3) Make you decision on what material to use based on what is available to you and the watering needs of the plant. Tree fern stays moist a lot longer than sticks and cork bark. If tree fern is not available, you can still use sticks or cork by attaching some moss under or on top of the roots.

4) Soak the mount and a small amount of moss overnight before using. Be sure to attach wire hooks or other material that will be used to hang the mount up before attaching the plant.

5) Carefully un-pot the plant removing as much growing medium as possible. Remove all dried up or mushy roots with a mild fungicide or dust them lightly with cinnamon if I have done any trimming to prevent rot or infection. Once again taking into consideration the growth habit of your orchid, lay the plant onto the mount, spreading the roots gently out on the surface. If you are using moss place a thin layer either under or on top of the roots. The great thing is that if you decide you have too much moss or too little, you can easily add or remove with little damage or disturbance to the plant. You will need to use some type of material initially to hold the plant onto the mount until the roots grab and hold on naturally.

Some of the things I have seem people use include fishing line, thin strips of nylon hosiery, wire, twist ties, staples, elastic bands, and even hot glue. Whatever you decide to use, just make sure that you don’t tie the roots to the mount so tightly that they are damaged. Use the minimum amount of tie-down that will hold the plant in place. Once the plant is established on the mount, you can remove whatever you used to hold it in place or leave it on if you want.

Don’t forget about the tag! If it doesn’t already have a hole in it, make a hole and using a piece of wire or fishing line, attach it to the mount. I usually hang: from the hook or you can drill a small hole in the mount and thread the wire for the tag through it. Place your newly mounted plant in shadier spot for the first 2 weeks while it adjusts to the new conditions. Water it carefully, making sure it doesn’t stay too wet or too dry. Only you will know through careful observation of the leaves and 6 roots, what is too wet or dry while the plant is getting used to its new growing condition. Then slowly move it every few days closer to its final destination until you have it where you want it to be.

Equitant oncidiums (Tolumnias) are great plants to try mounting for beginners. These plants like to dry out quickly and require a lot less humidity than many other types of orchids. A tip for overgrown mounts is that it’s unwise to even try removing the plant from its mount. It’s easier on both you and the plant to attach the whole works to a new mount in its entirety. The plant will soon cover th edges of the old material anyway. I’ve had some success prying off roots from sticks but I would only attempt to do that when there is plenty of new root growth just commencing.

by Susan Taylor
Originally published in BellaOnline

Staking your inflorescences so that the flowers can be presented and shown to their best effect is an art into itself. If you go to an orchid show or society meeting where blooming plants are displayed, you will see all kinds of different staking methods depending upon the type of orchid.

Staking should be started as soon as the inflorescence is about 6 inches, or 15 centimeters, high. Place the stake as close to the bottom of the inflorescence of pseudobulb as possible without damaging roots. Choose a stake that will be appropriate for the flower – heavier stakes are necessary for bigger plants. Metal stakes work best for tall inflorescences such as Oncidiums.

Use clips, twist ties, raffia, or plant tape to hold the inflorescence to the stake. Remember that the inflorescence grows from the tip and that you will need to check the staking on a weekly basis. This is best done in the late afternoon or evening as the plant is at its most pliable then. They can be very brittle and break off easily if you attempt moving and tying in the early morning hours.

Once an inflorescence has started to grow it is best to leave the plant facing the same direction so that you do not get twisting of the stem or flowers. Some growers will put a piece of colored tape on the front of the plant so they know just how to replace the plant if it has to be moved for watering.

by Susan Taylor
Originally published in BellaOnline

In general, leaf loss in Cattleya Alliance orchids is not considered to be a major growing problem. Unless you have very good growing conditions and have solved most of your cultural problems, you are going to lose the leaves on the older pseudobulbs of your Cattleyas. It is an exceptional grower who can keep these plants happy enough to produce a specimen plant. That is not to say that the hobby grower cannot do better to reduce leaf loss than the average grower. There are three main reasons for leaf loss: diseases/insects, culture and genetics.

In the diseases and insects category, scale is the main culprits. Scale is easy to spot once you have ever seen it – a grouping of white fuzzy spots. Left untreated scale will overtake a plant and ultimately will kill it. As soon as you see evidence of these pests, remove the plant to a location away from your other plants. Manually clean up any obvious insects or spray the whole plant with Bayer’s Rose and Flower Insect Spray (dual action) which will kill any pests that it touches as well as be absorbed in the plant and will kill adults as well as any sucking insects. Continue to spray for about 3 months.

Cultural practices which will cause leaf loss include overwatering, under-watering and excess cold and or heat. Overwatering will cause the roots on your plants to die off so they cannot support the plant. In an attempt to stay alive, the plant will shed extra leaves and try to keep the new growth alive. If possible, look at the roots of your plants – some growers actually take their plants out of the pots periodically to assess the growth. An old rule of thumb says that if the second oldest pseudobulb (generally from the previous year) is wrinkled and desiccated, you are either under or overwatering. Take your plant out of the pot to see which it is. If the roots are good and plump, then you’re under-watering. If they are all dead and rotten, you have overwatered. Repot and change your culture.

Another cultural practice which will cause leaf drop is very cold temperatures in the winter and very hot temperatures in the summer. Most Cattleya Alliance plants will withstand a wide range of temperatures, but very high and low temperatures, even within their range, will cause them to be stressed and lose leaves.

Genetics will also determine whether the plant will grow large for you or lose leaves once they are a couple of years old. There is little that can be done for this aspect but to determine through trial-and-error which plants are best for your growing conditions and stick to them.

One point to keep in mind is that if you can keep from doing it, it is much better to allow the leaf to drop off naturally than to cut it off. If the leaf will not snap off with light pressure, leave it on until it is ready to come off. The plant will seal the wound through a natural drying process which will keep any pests or disease from using the area to invade the plant.

by Susan Taylor
Originally published in BellaOnline

Ground cinnamon paste for wounds

Use a paste made of ground cinnamon and a common household glue, such as Elmer’s, to cover and protect wounds on plants so that they will not become infected with fungi. This remedy is for badly damaged plants that you truly want to save after being damaged. The glue will form a  protective barrier and the cinnamon acts as a fungicide.

All purpose cinnamon spray

Cinnamon can also be used in spray formula. Made a mixture of 30 ml of ground cinnamon with 500 ml of alcohol and mix it well. Allow the alcohol mix to steep overnight and then filter to remove the sediment. A coffee filter will do this admirably. Mix 250 ml of the resulting liquid with a liter of water and 10 ml of liquid detergent. Use this as a spray for insects as well as a fungicide.

Always follow the instructions on insecticides

Protect yourself and your plants when applying any kind of product. Some of these products are poisonous to humans or pets as well as to the pests you’re trying to kill. Be especially careful if there are children around and only apply when they are not going to be in the vicinity. It is a good idea to wear protective gloves such as the latex gloves for dishwashing while applying insecticides even if the directions don’t call for them.

Always throw away old potting materials

When repotting, always maintain a clear distinction between old and new potting materials. Throw away any old potting medium which may  contain pests or eggs of pests. One good idea is to spread out old newspaper and fold up and dispose of old medium after it is removed as well as the top layers of paper. You will then have a good sterile environment to put the next plant on. Dip plants in insecticide as well as fungicide before repotting in clean medium and pots.

When you cannot spray plants

An interesting idea I came across the other day was instead of spraying plants, take a plant with insect problems and tie it up in a plastic bag with a new dog or cat flea collar. Leave unsealed in the shade for a day to kill
insects.

To get rid of fungus gnats

To get rid of those annoying little fungus gnats put one of those mosquito larvae killing wafers in water in a bucket. Use this water for your normal watering. The insecticide in the water will take care of the larvae of the
gnats which eat decaying matter in the medium.

Rotate Vandas and sympodials

In order to get your Vandas and Ascocendas to grow upward rather than to one side, rotate them a half turn once a month. This will encourage nice upright growth as well as give the inflorescence a nice presentation.

Color Coded Spray Bottles

Use different colored spray bottles for different kinds of sprays—one for plain water, one for fungicide, one for an insecticide, etc. Using different colors makes it more difficult to spray with the wrong thing. Most garden centers today offer different shape, size and color bottles.